Life is like a train these days....

This weekend I have vowed to do nothing more than to attend to my bookkeeping which is way overdue at my accountants.  Well, maybe except for writing this blog. :) It has been a busy year, much like a train where I hop off here and there for a bit, but mostly chug onward toward my destination, sadly, with no time to stop and smell the flowers.

I have had to put off a lot of things but the easiest thing to put off was my company bookkeeping.  I have to confess, there is little which I procrastinate more than this and my accountant is hounding me. I have been very neglectful this year and did really nothing except throw receipts into a shoe box. This weekend I need to pay the piper. So I need to hit the post button then turn off the internet!

Happy Birthday Johnny!

I blogged about Rosanne Cash last week but it was only by coincidence that I happened to do that in the same week as Johnny Cash's birthday. He would have been 79 today, if he had not died in 2003, 4 months after the death of his soulmate and partner of 35 years, June Carter.   Johnny proposed to June on on February 22, 1968 at a live performance in London Ontario.  They were married a week later.  

Image via Wikipedia

No doubt, their 35 year love affair (I think of their relationship even after their marriage as a love affair) was something particularly special. They were blessed to have found such a strong and enduring love.

From Wiki:
At the July 5, 2003 concert (his last public performance), before singing "Ring of Fire", Cash read a statement about his late wife that he had written shortly before taking the stage:
Cover of June Carter Cash“ The spirit of June Carter overshadows me tonight with the love she had for me and the love I have for her. We connect somewhere between here and heaven. She came down for a short visit, I guess, from heaven to visit with me tonight to give me courage and inspiration like she always has.

The Cash family have released two posthumous albums containing songs recorded by Johnny before his death, entitled American V: A Hundred Highways  in 2006 and American VI: Ain't No Grave in 2010.  It wouldn't surprise me if there were more in the vault as well.

One of Johnny's biggest hits was "Ring of Fire" but my favourite traditional Johnny Cash song is Folsom Prision Blues.  To provide some perspective, the album that Cash recorded there, At Folsom Prison, went on to sell more copies than any individual album from The Beatles.  Neat to watch the vintage footage in the first clip,  from a performance at Cummins Prison in 1969 and to contrast that with the 1992 video featuring a mature Johnny Cash.  


 


Written by June Carter and Merle Kilgore
Recorded by Johnny Cash on 3/25/63
Number one - County Chart; Number 17 - Pop Chart


Love Is A Burning Thing
And It Makes A Fiery Ring
Bound By Wild Desire
I Fell Into A Ring Of Fire

CHORUS:
I Fell Into A Burning Ring Of Fire
I Went Down, Down, Down
And The Flames Went Higher

And It Burns, Burns, Burns
The Ring Of Fire
The Ring Of Fire

The Taste Of Love Is Sweet
When Hearts Like Ours Meet
I Fell For You Like A Child
Oh,But The Fire Went Wild

CHORUS
I Fell Into A Burning Ring Of Fire
I Went Down, Down, Down
And The Flames Went Higher
And It Burns, Burns, Burns
The Ring Of Fire
The Ring Of Fire

Love Is A Burning Thing
And It Makes A Fiery Ring
Bound By Wild Desire
I Fell Into A Ring Of Fire

I Fell Into A Burning Ring Of Fire
I Went Down(down), Down(down), Down(down)
And The Flames Went Higher Higher Higher

I Fell Into A Burning Ring Of Fire
I Went Down(down), Down(down), Down(down)
And The Flames Went Higher Higher Higher

And It Burns



I hear the train a comin'
It's rollin' 'round the bend,
And I ain't seen the sunshine,
Since, I don't know when,
I'm stuck in Folsom Prison,
And time keeps draggin' on,
But that train keeps a-rollin',
On down to San Antone.

When I was just a baby,
My Mama told me, "Son,
Always be a good boy,
Don't ever play with guns,"
But I shot a man in Reno,
Just to watch him die,
When I hear that whistle blowin',
I hang my head and cry.

I bet there's rich folks eatin',
In a fancy dining car,
They're probably drinkin' coffee,
And smokin' big cigars,
But I know I had it comin',
I know I can't be free,
But those people keep a-movin',
And that's what tortures me.

Well, if they freed me from this prison,
If that railroad train was mine,
I bet I'd move out over a little,
Farther down the line,
Far from Folsom Prison,
That's where I want to stay,
And I'd let that lonesome whistle,
Blow my Blues away.

Walk the Line - the Movie

Interested in knowing more about Johnny Cash?  This recent film focuses on Cash's younger life, his romance with June Carter, and his ascent to the country music scene, with material taken from his autobiographies.
 from Wiki:

Walk the Line, an Academy Award-winning biopic about Cash's life starring Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny and Reese Witherspoon as June (for which she won the 2005 Best Actress Oscar), was released in the United States on November 18, 2005 to considerable commercial success and critical acclaim. Both Phoenix and Witherspoon have won various other awards for their roles, including the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy and Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy, respectively. They both performed their own vocals in the film, and Phoenix learned to play guitar for his role as Cash. Phoenix received the Grammy Award for his contributions to the soundtrack. John Carter Cash, the first child of Johnny and June, served as an executive producer on the film.

I think I will go rent the movie and watch it tonight, once I put in a good 10 hours of work!